2008/09 Upper Deck Ice Hockey preview

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Ice is a hockey release I’ve always liked but never bought. The base cards are always nice, and the rookie short prints, autos, and even the jersey cards are released on acetate cards. They’re usually gorgeous as well.

So why don’t I buy Ice? Well, last year’s set was 212 cards long, with a whopping 112 short printed rookies and 16 of those numbered out of 99. Great for investors who pull a Kane or a Towes from their box, but bad for the set collectors who don’t. In 2005, it was a 268 card set with 168 short prints. See where this is going?

2008/09 Ice will see 4 short printed rookies to a box, same as last year. Some of the rookies again will be numbered out of 99, though there’s no checklist I can find right now that says how many. Each box also features 3 autographed and/or memorablia cards.

Were I living large, I’d be all over this release, and probably put a set together. Since I’m not, I’ll likely pass once again. Presales are in the area of $80-$100 for a hobby box, which features 20 five card packs.

*UPDATE* Here’s the powerpoint. If someone can email me how to grab the images out of there, I’ll post them here.